With the first words out of his mouth, former Ontario premier David Peterson set the tone for what a celebration of life for his late brother Jim would look and sound like.
“This is not a funeral,” he said to a packed house last Tuesday at the Royal Conservatory of Music in downtown Toronto. “Our family has already done its grieving. This is also not a Liberal rally,” he added with a big smile.
Presumably, Peterson felt the need to say that because the room did happen to be full of Grits, all of whom were there to pay tribute to a man who was unlike any other they had known.
I have known thousands of politicians over the years. There is no question that the happiest and most joyous of them was James Scott Peterson, who died last May at age 82. Justin Trudeau may have won an election in 2015 on “sunny ways.” But Jim Peterson lived that every day of his time in public life. Ask him how he was doing, and the answer was invariably “terrrrrrrific.”
“Jim believed in serving his country and putting kindness ahead of all else,” said David, the middle of the three Peterson brothers, all of whom were born in London, Ontario, and ended up in politics. “He loved everybody, including Conservatives and the NDP. And trust me, that’s not always easy to do.”
Jim Peterson was the Liberal MP for Willowdale from 1980 to 1984 and then again from 1988 to 2007. He served in the cabinets of two prime ministers: Jean Chrétien (secretary of state for international financial institutions) and Paul Martin (minister of international trade). In the early 1980s, as the parliamentary secretary to Chrétien — who was then the justice minister — Peterson led the process that resulted in changes to the Criminal Code in sexual-assault cases.
“A woman’s personal history couldn’t be put on trial,” is how Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who also spoke at the celebration of life, put it.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks at Jim Peterson's celebration of life. (Steve Paikin)
As trade minister, “Jim reminded everyone we were a trading nation, and that needed to be central to how we think,” Freeland continued. Peterson represented Canada at the World Trade Organization negotiations in Doha.
Freeland described herself as a Peterson “apprentice,” as he canvassed with her in 2013 during her first election run. When she got a particularly rough ride from a voter at one campaign stop, Freeland recalled, “he shared some of his glorious profanity with me, gave me a big hug, and said, ‘You’re terrrrrific.’ It wasn’t true but made me feel so much better.”
Tim Peterson, the youngest of the three Peterson brothers and himself an MPP from 2003 to 2007, gave a candid and touching example of his big brother’s support.
David Peterson extends a hand to Mikhail Baryshnikov (left); Callum Buckley, Jim Peterson's nephew, plays his uncle's guitar. (Steve Paikin)
“When, later in life, I faced some mental-health issues, he sought to understand and encourage me,” Tim said.
What did Jim say?
“The only difference between you and the rest of us, Tim, is that you have been diagnosed.”
Strangely enough, the most life-altering experience Jim had during his 82 years on Earth happened in Grade 9, when he only had eyes for a classmate named Heather. “He planted a kiss on her under the water in a pool,” said Jim’s niece Jessica Buckley.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sends a video message as Tim Peterson, Jessica Buckley, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and former Peterson staffer Lisa Stilborn listen. (Steve Paikin)
“Everybody liked Jim, but the girls loved Jim,” echoed his brother David. “From that salacious act under the water, it’s said Jim never kissed another girl, and Heather never kissed another boy.” They were an item for almost the next seven decades.
One day in Grade 10, chaos descended on Jim and Heather’s class. Students were tossing paper planes and making a ruckus. “But quietly, in the back of the classroom, there were Jim and Heather, holding hands and making out,” adds David. They married at age 21.
Jim and Heather were marvellous influences in the lives of their nieces and nephews. “He taught us how to hammer a nail, use a saw, and build a birdhouse,” said Buckley. But Jim and Heather never had children of their own. One day, during one of our many intimate conversations, I got up the nerve to ask him why not.
Lisa Stilborn, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, and former governor general David Johnston; Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland delivers remarks. (Steve Paikin)
“It just didn’t happen for us,” was his response. Given how important family is to the Petersons, it’s hard to imagine how disappointing that reality must have been for the couple. But they simply decided that, if they couldn’t pour all their energy into children of their own, they’d do so for the country.
Another high-school anecdote: One year, Heather was away in Switzerland for her education, and there was a “snowball” dance in London. (For you younger readers, that’s when a boy and a girl hit the dance floor but pluck a random dance partner out of the crowd to begin the “snowball.” Pretty soon, everyone’s out there dancing, but someone has to initiate the process.) Jim started the dance and, David says, “every girl wanted to be picked.” But Jim picked a disabled girl who’d been off on her own. “Her father said it was the greatest day of her life. That was Jim. Confident and kind in all circumstances.”
Former governor general David Johnston delivers remarks; Mikhail Baryshnikov speaks. (Steve Paikin)
Jim Peterson had other occasions, particularly in politics, to show his confidence. After the Liberals won the 1993 federal election, in which Chrétien promised to scrap the Goods and Services Tax, it became Peterson’s responsibility, as chair of the finance committee, to hold hearings to find an alternative. When Peterson told the prime minister that the evidence overwhelmingly suggested the tax ought not to be scrapped, “that did not go over well with the PMO,” David Peterson recalled. “But Jim took the heat, stuck up for his principles and not political expediency.” The GST, of course, was not scrapped and is widely believed to be the most important tax-reform measure the previous Progressive Conservative government ever undertook.
Perhaps the most surprising element of the Peterson celebration was the appearance of the one-time greatest ballet star in the world: Mikhail Baryshnikov. Jim was part of a group that helped Baryshnikov defect while he was on a Canadian tour.
“He gave me the best present one human could give to another,” the 76-year-old former Soviet dancer, choreographer, and actor said. “Freedom. Thank you, Jim Peterson. Thank you, Canada.”
“He was the epitome of civility in Parliament,” added David Johnston, Canada’s 28th governor general. “Canada needs its heroes, especially a unique hero such as Jim.”
Let’s give the last word to Jim’s brother David: “He wanted everyone to share his joy of life. So think today about Jim’s kindness, his contribution, and his great love of country.”
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